Aftermath of the Alchemist
by DanniDazzled74
Summary: A three-part story set a week after Varian's attack on Corona. While Rapunzel and her friends are excited about the new adventure that lies ahead of them, the aftermath of everything that has happened in the last week still weighs heavily.
1. Part One - The Castle

Rapunzel sat on her bed, legs drawn to her chest. She stared blankly out the window, already knowing what Cass was going to say.

"I dunno, Raps. We leave in two days. There's not really anything we can do for him," Cassandra grunted, struggling to rake the brush through Rapunzel's hair. "I think that it's just best to leave the whole thing behind us. Besides, I think your dad has a pretty good handle on everything, now that it's all out in the open. He'll take care of him."

Rapunzel sighed.

For the last week, she'd been trying to sort through her feelings about everything that had happened. "I know," she said quietly. "But this whole situation is just so...wrong. What he did was horrible, and selfish, and cruel...but with everything he went through, is it even right to blame him? I turned him away when he was desperate, the people of Corona were harassing him, and his father..." Rapunzel closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath. "He must have felt so alone," she whispered.

Cassandra let out a frustrated sigh - whether it was directed at Rapunzel or her hair, Rapunzel wasn't sure. "All of that may be true, Rapunzel, but it doesn't change what he did. He put half of the Royal Guard in the infirmary, he kidnapped the Queen - Rapunzel, he tried to kill you!" she said angrily, pulling the comb violently through a snarl. "Any one of us could have easily died that night. We're all lucky to be alive. He's not blameless."

There was a long, heavy moment of silence.

Finally, Rapunzel looked up at Eugene, who sat in a chair across from the bed.

"What do you think, Eugene?" she asked desperately.

Eugene's head snapped up, as if he had been deep in thought. He leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees. "I dunno, Blondie..." he said slowly, sounding quite unsure himself. "I think you're both right. Varian did some really, really awful things. There's no way around that, no matter what his reasons were. But...I don't think he was in his right mind. Whatever he went through, it changed him." Eugene paused, letting out a heavy sigh. "I don't think he's the same person we knew anymore."

Before Rapunzel could say anything, she winced at a sharp tug on her head.

"It's no excuse," Cassandra muttered angrily. "He's a traitor."

Rapunzel started to argue, but Cassandra cut her off. "Hair's done," she said dryly. "I'll be back in a bit with your laundry." And with that, she turned and left the room.

Rapunzel stood to run after her, but Cassandra slammed the door shut.

Rapunzel sank back onto the bed, suddenly unable to do anything but stare at her hands. It was as if time just froze. Or she did. For what seemed like the hundredth time since that night, Rapunzel became entirely overwhelmed by emotions. She was furious with Varian for what he did, but guilty for not being able to help him in the first place. She wanted to wrap her arms around him, and tell him that they would fix it, together. She never wanted to see him again. She was relieved that everyone was okay, but she was still afraid.

Suddenly, she felt Eugene sit down on the bed, and wrap his arms around her. Instantly, she felt grounded again. She took a deep breath, and leaned into him.

"Everything's gonna be okay," he murmured in her ear. "Cass will come around eventually, and soon enough, this will all be behind us."

Rapunzel closed her eyes. She let out a sigh, trying to relax the knot in her stomach. "I just can't wrap my head around all of this, Eugene," she said. "I don't know what to think, or feel, or...do..." her voice trailed off.

"I don't think there's a right answer, Blondie," he said gently.

She thought for a moment. "Maybe...maybe I should go see him?" she wondered.

Eugene pulled back and held her at arm's length. "Rapunzel, I don't think that's a good idea," he said quickly. Rapunzel saw the worry fall over his face. "I know you still want to help him, but I don't think seeing you would do him any good. And, as much as I hate to admit it, Cassandra is right. He did try to kill you." He took her hands in his. "I just don't think that it would go very well, for either of you," he pleaded.

Rapunzel looked up at him, knowing that he was right. She took a deep breath in, and slowly let it out. She tried to shut out everything except for him, the man she loved. Her mind wandered through everything they had been through together. So much, good and bad. He had been right beside her through all of it, from the moment she left the tower. Always there, holding her hand. Telling her that it was going to be okay. Putting up with all of her antics. Making her laugh. Always ready for any adventure that she wanted to bring him along for. She couldn't even fathom how much she loved him.

A thought occurred to her suddenly, and a pang of guilt hit her in the stomach.

"Eugene, I'm so sorry," she apologized. "I've been so caught up in my own head these last few days, that I never even asked if you were okay." As the words came out of her mouth, Rapunzel realized just how different Eugene had been acting the last few days. He'd been uncharacteristically quiet and somber; she often caught him staring off into space. He also hadn't willingly left her side since they'd been back. Rapunzel had assumed that this had been because of her own mental breakdown, but now, she wasn't so sure.

She watched Eugene put on an unconvincing smile.

"I'm fine, Blondie," he murmured. "Don't worry about me."

Rapunzel sighed. She hated when he did this. "Eugene, we've been together for a year now. I know when you're lying to me," she said.

Eugene remained quiet, staring at the wall. Rapunzel wrapped her arms around him, and laid her head on his shoulder. "I know you cared about him," she continued. "This has been horrible for everyone, you don't have to suck it up for my sake."

A long silence hung in the air before Eugene finally spoke.

"I just feel like I let him down," Eugene murmured quietly. "He kind of looked up to me, you know? When I was his age, the only role models I had were thieves and murderers. And I knew I couldn't trust a single one of them." He paused, fiddling with a loose string on the end of his sleeve. "I don't know. I guess I thought that I could be to him the person I needed when I was his age," he said dryly.

"We all wish we would have done more," Rapunzel said gently, pulling him tighter. "But I don't think we could have. No one saw it coming."

"Yeah."

There was another moment of heavy silence, and Rapunzel could tell that Eugene had more on his mind.

"Is there something you're not telling me?" She asked carefully. "Did. . . did something else happen that I don't know about?"

Eugene gave a lifeless chuckle. "No," he said flatly. He paused, then sighed. "Rapunzel, I thought you were dead. For a split second, when you let go of those rocks. . .I thought you were gone."

Rapunzel pulled back and held him at arm's length. His face was stone cold. "Eugene. . ."

"And now, we're going to go chase these rocks to who knows where," he said bitterly, cutting her off. "People are going to find out. I mean, the whole kingdom already knows, I'm sure the news will spread fast. People are going to hunt us," He finally looked her in the eyes, and Rapunzel could see the fear in his. "People are going to hunt you, Rapunzel. And if we had this much trouble from one kid. . . It's only going to get worse. It's going to get so much worse."

Rapunzel didn't know what to say. She knew he was right.

Eugene sighed. "I know this is something we have to do," he said, taking her hands. "And I want to help you figure out what this all means, I really do. I just. . ." His voice dropped to a whisper. "I'm so scared of losing you."

Rapunzel watched a single tear fall down his cheek. She reached up to wipe it away, and held his face.

She took a deep breath. "I'm scared too. I don't know what's at the end of all this. I don't know where my destiny is going to lead me. . . Or if I'm even supposed to come back from it," she paused, swallowing hard. "And I'm scared of what's going to happen to everyone else. You're all going to be in danger because of me."

"It doesn't matter," Eugene said sternly. "Wherever you go, I go. I'd rather die out there with you than go back to any kind of life without you."

She sighed. There was nothing to do but hold each other.

After a few minutes, she broke the silence. "You know, as long as I can reach out and touch a rock, I think we'll be okay," she joked.

Eugene chuckled. "It was so strange," she continued, "and terrifying. It was like my whole body was on fire, but it didn't hurt. It was like I could go outside of my body, controlling things that weren't me."

"I'm just glad you're okay," Eugene said quietly.

"At least we're not boring."

Eugene leaned in and kissed her. "I love you," he whispered.

She kissed him again. "I love you too."

"I should probably go help with repairs," he said unenthusiastically. "I told the men I'd be there this afternoon."

Rapunzel nodded. It had been a week since the attack, and there was still a lot of mess to clean up.

"I think I'm going try and talk to Cass," she said. "Something was off with her."

"Something's always off with her," Eugene said sarcastically. Rapunzel elbowed him. Eugene chuckled, seeming a little bit more like himself. He stood up, kissing her on the forehead. See you tonight?

"Yeah."

Rapunzel watched as he walked towards the door, stopping to look at her once more. When he was gone, she flopped down on her bed, and quickly fell asleep.


	2. Part Two - The Woods

Rapunzel awoke to see Cass shuffling around her room, putting clothes and linens away in her drawers. Rapunzel sat up, confused for a moment as to how and when she fell asleep.

"Hey," she said groggily, rubbing her eyes.

"Hey."

Like everyone else in the kingdom, Cass had been acting unusual since Varian's assault on the castle. Rapunzel wouldn't be so concerned, if it wasn't for the fact that Cass seemed to be avoiding her as much as she could, for being her lady-in-waiting. And when they did talk, it seemed cold and curt. Rapunzel was beginning to wonder if Cass was upset with her.

Rapunzel watched as her friend expertly, meticulously, placed every article of clothing in its place. Rapunzel desperately wanted to talk with her, but she wasn't sure how to bring anything up. Cass was tricky - she didn't do heart-to-hearts all that much. And Rapunzel poking too hard at her emotional boundaries had already been a point of friction between them in the past. She didn't want that to happen again.

Cass finished putting everything away, and immediately stood up to leave.

"WAIT!" Rapunzel yelled, much louder than she had intended to, throwing out her arm as if she could catch her.

Cass jumped, and turned to raising an eyebrow. ". . . Yes?" she asked slowly.

"Um, uh," Rapunzel fidgeted with her hair, slightly embarrassed. "I was just wondering, if you were done with everything for the day, if you would go on a walk with me? Out to the fields, or somewhere...away from here?" Rapunzel sighed, folding her legs. "I just. . . need to get out of this castle."

Cassandra blanked for a second, then smirked. "Two days too long a wait for you, Princess?"

Rapunzel let out a timid laugh. "The closer we get to leaving, the more suffocating this place seems," she replied honestly.

Cassandra let out a sigh. Her face was impossible to read.

"Let me go change, and grab my owl," she said. "I'll meet you by the west gate in twenty minutes."

The west gate, as Rapunzel and a few others jokingly called it, was the smallest and simplest of the five entrances on the west side of the castle. Cass had explained to her that it had once been used by the kitchen staff, but the gardens had been relocated nearly a decade ago, and a new entrance was built. Rapunzel could see why - to get to the small double doors from the kitchen, you would have to walk past the maids' quarters, the guards' quarters, one of the cellar entrances, and down a long, empty cobblestone hallway. Now it was abandoned, except for when people wanted to sneak out of the castle unbothered by anyone. It was about the closest thing to a secret entrance that the castle had, as far as Rapunzel knew, anyway.

She sat on the stone floor, leaning against the wooden frame of the opened doors, and looked up at the bright, clear sky. She wondered how far they were going to travel. Would the sky look the same from wherever they ended up? Rapunzel noticed how exhausted, yet wide awake she felt.

A screeching owl shot past her, jolting Rapunzel out of her thoughts. She turned around to see Cass striding toward her. Rapunzel noticed, not for the first time, how much more comfortable Cassandra looked when she wore her tunic and leggings - or anything other than a dress, for that matter.

Rapunzel stood, and both women walked through the doors. Without a word, they headed toward the back entrance to the stables.

Rapunzel anxiously tried to think of what to say. She finally opened her mouth to speak, but Cassandra beat her to it.

"I know what you're doing, Raps," she accused.

Rapunzel sighed and ran her hands over her hair. "I'm sorry, Cass. . . I know you don't always like talking about . . . things. I'm not trying to be nosy, or make you talk about anything you don't want to," she pleaded. "It's just. . . I just," Rapunzel twisted a loose strand of hair. "It's just so hard to know what you're thinking sometimes." She folded her arms to her chest, looking at the ground. "Cass, you don't have to go on this trip if you don't want to," she said. "The last thing I want is for you to be forced to leave your home because of me. Or, if it's either of our dads, I can convince them to let you stay here. You. . . you don't have to do this."

Cassandra stopped dead in the middle of the dirt path, folding her arms. "Rapunzel, what on earth are you talking about?" she demanded. "Why would you think I don't want to go with you?!" Then, her face fell slightly. "Do. . . do you not want me to go?"

"Of course I do!" Rapunzel said hurriedly. "It's just, I know that it's been a terrible couple of weeks, and everyone is still upset with what happened, but it just seems like you're trying to avoid me. Like you're upset or something."

Cassandra's face went blank as she stared at the ground. Her arms remained folded stiffly. "I'm not mad at you, Rapunzel, I-"

Just then, a couple of patrol guards from behind the stables and walked past them, bowing slightly at the princess.

"Let's get out of here," Cass said curtly, continuing down the path.

They saddled and mounted their horses in silence. Rapunzel decided not to push it. She would let Cass talk when she was ready.

They rode out of town, over the bridge, and into the mainland without a word. When they reached the edge of the woods, Rapunzel leapt off of Fidela and onto the path.

Cass followed suit. They walked along the forest's edge, hearing only their own feet hitting the dirt. Just when Rapunzel thought she would have to break her silence, Cass finally spoke up.

"I should have seen it coming," she said gravely. "I never suspected him. Even after he came during the blizzard. I just never thought he'd be capable. . ." Her voice trailed off.

Rapunzel looked over and saw the torment on her friend's face. "Cass. . ."

"I know he had a thing for me," she said bluntly. "He said so himself, sort of." She paused, looking ahead as if she was seeing something else. "He helped me so much that day," she said quietly. "Just so that he could impress me. And it worked. I turned down an assignment from my father for him, I called him my friend!" she said angrily. "I. . . I thought of him as my friend."

"I know," was all Rapunzel could say.

"I thought that he was such a sweet kid," she continued. "I trusted him."

"We all did, Cass."

"I never should have let my guard down. It can't happen again, Rapunzel," she said desperately.

Rapunzel stopped and grabbed her shoulder, looking her in the eye. "Cass, I have my mom back because of you," she said earnestly. "You saved lives that night!" Rapunzel sighed, and the two continued walking. "If anyone should be feeling guilty, it's me. I snuck him in the castle, I let him take the flower. I thought it was the right thing to do, and I wanted so badly to make up for not helping him before. . ." Rapunzel winced, feeling the familiar sting of guilt once more. She took a deep breath. "But I can't keep blaming myself, and neither can you. At the end of the day, what Varian chose to do was out of our hands."

Cassandra drew her sword, slashing at the foliage as they walked.

"You're right. It _was_ his choice," she said angrily, huffing as she swung at the innocent branches. "His choice to betray his friends. His kingdom. His choice to kidnap our Queen and assault the castle." Gripping the sword with both hands, she let out a yell as she hacked the blade into the side of a tree. She dropped her arms to her sides, and the sword stayed in place. She turned her back to Rapunzel.

"It was his choice to try and crush me to death while he hid inside a machine." Her voice shook with rage. She stared at the impaled tree for a moment, catching her breath. Then, she planted a boot against the trunk, and yanked it out.

Rapunzel said nothing, but stepped forward and hugged Cass from behind. Cass didn't move. "I trusted him," she whispered.

After a moment, Cass stepped away and turned around. Her face was unreadable once more.

"Rapunzel, you have to understand that when we're out there, we can't trust _anyone_," she said desperately, enunciating every syllable. "We cannot afford to let another snake in. It's going to be different out there."

"I know, Cass," Rapunzel said somberly. "But at the same time, you can't let this ruin how you see everyone else we meet moving forward. There are going to be times where we need help." When Cass didn't say anything, Rapunzel thought for a moment.

"Look, I'll try not to be so naïve about people, if you try to give them a chance," she offered, holding out her hand.

Cassandra's face softened, and she let out a small chuckle. "Fine, Princess," she agreed, mockingly shaking Rapunzel's hand. They both giggled, and continued down the path.

"I've been outside of Corona a few times," Cass mused. "But only ever on short trips with my dad. Honestly, rocks aside, it's kind of intimidating." She kicked a loose rock down the trail. "All my life, it's been all about Corona. Growing up, my father made sure I knew that protecting and serving this kingdom were the most important things I could do in life. Now that we're leaving. . . I don't know. I guess keeping you safe still counts as serving the kingdom." She kicked the rock again. "But other than that, I don't know who I am outside of these walls."

"I guess we're both going to have to find out," said Rapunzel.

The trail came to an end, and they found themselves at the back end of a recently tilled field. Rapunzel looked out across the expanse, and saw that it was completely empty. Suddenly, an idea came to her. She turned to face Cass.

"I want you to teach me how to fight. Not with swords or weapons. Just you and me, hand-to-hand. I need to learn how to protect myself when I don't have a frying pan.

Cassandra looked surprised for a moment, but then she smiled. "Alright, then." She surveyed the area for a moment, then pointed into the field. "There. The ground will be softer." Rapunzel swallowed nervously.

The fresh dirt was still damp from the previous night's rainstorm. Rapunzel felt the muddy earth squish between her toes.

"Alright, now, widen your stance, and bend your knees," Cass instructed. Rapunzel could tell that her friend was in her element. "Put your left foot forward a bit."

Rapunzel spent the next half hour methodically going through different offensive techniques. Throwing a punch, kicks, using her bodyweight to throw her opponent off balance.

"Alright, now come at me for real," Cass said. "Don't hold back."

Rapunzel hesitated. "Wait, Cass, are you sure? I don't want to hurt you."

Cassandra laughed. "Trust me Raps, you won't."

Rapunzel sighed. "Okay."

Rapunzel leapt at her, swinging out a leg in an attempt to kick Cass's out from underneath her. Cass, however, ducked, grabbed Rapunzel's legs, and launched the princess off of her back.

Rapunzel landed with a squish into a previously unseen puddle. She quickly made it to her knees, just in time to see Cass turn around. For a second Rapunzel thought that Cass was going to come at her, however, as soon as she caught sight of Rapunzel, she burst into laughter.

Rapunzel looked down to see that she was covered in thick, wet mud from the chest down.

While Cass was nearly doubled over laughing, Rapunzel took the opportunity to scoop up two fistfuls of mud. She then launched herself at Cassandra, simultaneously tackling her to the ground and smearing mud all over the front of her.

Their sparring match quickly devolved into no-rules, no-holds-back mud wrestling.

Rapunzel wasn't sure how long it went on for, but it only stopped when both girls were laughing so hard that they could no longer breathe. They laid next to each other on their backs, trying to catch their breath.

"Well," Rapunzel said after a moment. "So much for training."

"We'll work on it," Cass replied breathlessly. She stood up, and reached out a hand to Rapunzel. When they were both on their feet, Rapunzel nearly lost it again once she got a good look at Cassandra – from head to toe, there was barely an inch of her that wasn't covered.

"The other maids are going to kill me," Cass said with a smile, looking at Rapunzel's dress. "Oh well."

The ride back to the castle was much more pleasant than the ride out (save two now-muddy, grumbling horses). Rapunzel and Cass talked about plans for the trip; different cities they might stop in, what they would bring, etc. When they arrived back at the stables, they were both in much higher spirits.

They tried their best to wipe off the now-dried mud before they entered the castle, but it was really no use.

"Let's just go straight to the laundry room," Cassandra suggested. "We can just change there. But let me do the talking."

"Fine," Rapunzel giggled.

Unfortunately, the laundry room was on the East side of the castle, so they would not be spared the shame. As they approached the gate, they were met by a group of guards and citizens working to rebuild a previously smashed wall. From the crowd, Lance emerged to greet them.

"Wow. That is _quite_ the look, you two," he said charmingly, folding his arms. "Really brings out the eyes. Hey, where's Eugene?" he asked. "If he looks anything like you guys, I wanna rub it in. "Guy takes way too much pride in being clean," he said mischievously, rubbing his hands together.

Rapunzel and Cass looked at each other.

"He isn't with you?" Rapunzel asked. "He told me that he was going to come help out today."

"Nope. I just assumed he was with you." Lance put his hands on his hips.

Just then, Hookfoot walked over. "Slacker probably got distracted by a mirror or something," he said grumpily.

Cass and Lance let out a snicker, but Rapunzel frowned. After their conversation earlier in the day, Rapunzel doubted that Eugene would just skip out like that.

"Well boys, we'd love to stay and help, but I've got to go get Princess here cleaned up before we get in too much trouble," Cass said, taking Rapunzel by the shoulder and leading her toward the door.

"If you find Eugene before you change, give him a hug for me!" Lance called out behind them.

The girls walked down the corridor, trying not to be seen. Peeking around every corner, they finally made it to the laundry room.

As they were about to enter, however, they heard two very distinct voices.

"It's both of our dads," Rapunzel said surprisedly, straining to hear the conversation.

"Great," Cassandra moaned.

Then, Rapunzel heard Eugene's voice in the mix, as well as a woman's.

She looked at Cass, who simply shrugged.

Rapunzel sighed, and stepped through the door, apologies and explanations fully prepared.

She was, however, extremely confused at the sight in front of her. The King and the Captain stood over Eugene, who sat in a chair, with a rag held to his face by Esther, one of the laundry maids. She pulled it away slightly, revealing a bloody gash running down Eugene's face.

Rapunzel let out a small scream, and everyone looked over at them. Eugene tried to stand up, but

Esther pushed him back down in his chair. "Sit still, boy," she said sternly.

"What happened?!" Rapunzel cried.

"I could ask you the same thing, Blondie," Eugene said jokingly, wincing as Esther pressed a fresh cloth into the wound.

"Eugene!" Rapunzel growled angrily.

"It's just a scratch, Rapunzel, really," he said. But Rapunzel could tell by the look on his face that something bad had happened. She glanced at her father and the Captain, who were both silently avoiding her eye.

She took the cloth from Esther, holding it firmly against Eugene's neck. The bleeding seemed to have stopped, so she gently wiped the area dry.

She saw that the wound was not one, but four long scratches starting at his jaw and running down his neck.

They were exactly the spacing of four fingers.

"Eugene, who did this to you?" she asked in a trembling voice.

Eugene leaned his head on his hand, refusing to look her in the eye.

"Varian," he said quietly.

"WHAT!?"


	3. Part Three - The Dungeons

"WHAT!? Varian!?" Rapunzel stumbled backward into Cassandra, who caught her by the shoulders.

Cass looked quickly to her father. "Did he escape?" she asked urgently.

"No, no!" Eugene exclaimed, trying to calm them. "Nothing like that!"

Rapunzel's head was spinning. At the mention of Varian's name, the hairs on her neck had stood up, and her stomach turned cold and sour. She could barely hear anything other than her heartbeat pounding in her ears. "Eugene, what? I don't-how? _How_? I, I. . .uh. . ." Rapunzel felt Cass pushing her down into a chair, which seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. She struggled to form any kind of words, or even see straight.

She suddenly couldn't take her eyes away from the bloody towel in her hand. Eugene's blood. On the towel. On his shirt. On his face. On Esther's hands. On her own hands. An overwhelming dread took over her body. She hadn't seen Eugene bleed like this since. . . She clenched fistfuls of her dress as memories of that day flooded her vision. She felt hands on her back, and her father's voice came from somewhere distant. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't catch her breath. She saw Eugene's lifeless form lying limp in her arms, blood soaking his shirt, and the floor beneath them. The metallic, sickly sweet smell filled the air. She was powerless against the burning tears that fell down her cheeks.

"_Now look what you've done, Rapunzel_."

"No. . ." she whimpered aloud.

"Hey, hey," Eugene's voice came from directly in front of her. She felt his hands gripping her arms, giving her a small shake. "Rapunzel," he said sternly.

She looked up to see his face inches away from her own. His deep brown eyes stared into hers, bringing her back to reality.

"I'm okay Rapunzel. I'm fine," He said in a slow, soothing voice. "Everything's okay."

She closed her eyes and rested her face in her hands.

"Captain, I think it would be wise to check in with your men, and get an update on the situation," Rapunzel heard her father's calm, authoritative voice. "And Esther, I believe the kitchen could use an extra set of hands.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Cassandra, come with me, please," the king ordered.

Rapunzel heard footsteps leaving the room. Then, it was just her and Eugene. She took a deep breath and looked up at him again. His face was filled with concern and guilt.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I really thought I was done with those," Rapunzel said quietly. " But yeah, I'm fine."

Eugene said nothing, but tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. She took another steadying breath and looked him in the eye.

"Now tell me what happened.

...

For the last half hour, Eugene had been wandering the castle halls, deep in thought. He had left Rapunzel's room with the intention of meeting up with Lance and the others to help with repairs to the castle front, but instead had been aimlessly walking around for the last 45 minutes, overwhelmed with indecision. Eugene hadn't even realized how conflicted he felt over what had happened, until Rapunzel had forced him to talk about it.

"_Maybe. . . maybe I should go see him_?"

"_Rapunzel, I don't think that's a good idea_."

Eugene _knew_ that it wasn't a good idea. Yet once more, he found himself standing at the top of the staircase that led to the dungeons.

Eugene stared down into the darkness. Considering how many times he had been imprisoned in his life, he could not believe that he was thinking about walking down these steps of his own free will. In the year that he had lived in the castle, he had done his best to avoid them, except when Rapunzel had sent him and Cass on that ridiculous scavenger hunt. If felt wrong, and confusing. Like there should be a pang of shame. But he was a free man now. There was nothing hanging over his head. He was respected by the very same people who would have spat on him a year ago.

Before he knew it, he was halfway down the staircase.

Why was he doing this? What was he going to say?

On one hand, Eugene was furious. He wanted to throttle Varian. To take pleasure in seeing him behind bars for nearly taking away the love of his life.

On the other, he wanted to. . .apologize? Comfort the kid? Tell him that he forgave him, and that they were going to figure it out, and fix everything?

Part of him only wanted to look into the kid's eyes to try and understand the why and how of it all.

Eugene stopped and tried to shake his head clear. How on earth would he explain this to Rapunzel? Would he even tell her? He felt like a hypocrite, doing the exact thing he told her not to do.

Yet his feel continued down the steps.

He reached the bottom and was met with two guards standing in front of the heavy, barred door.

"Can we help you, sir?" one asked.

"I just need to talk to someone," Eugene replied stoically.

The guards looked at each with uncertainty, but reluctantly opened the door to let him through.

Eugene stepped into the hallway. The left side was lined with doors that led to the cells. As he was deciding which door to try first, the door opposite the one he had entered through swung open, and in walked the Captain.

"Fitzherbert, what are you doing down here?" he asked, a slight suspicion in his voice.

Eugene's relationship with the Captain had evolved into one of mutual respect, if nothing more. During the attack, the Captain had gotten hit hard - Eugene noticed that he still had a sling on his arm.

Eugene squared his shoulders nervously. "I . . . need to see Varian," he said, still uncertain of what he was doing.

The Captain raised an eyebrow. "What for? To interrogate him?'

Eugene looked at his feet. "I just want to talk to him."

To his surprise, the Captain opened the last door in the hallway, and motioned for Eugene to follow him. Eugene jogged to catch up.

As he stepped through the door, Eugene noticed that the cells were empty, for what he could see. He looked down the length of the hall, and noticed two guards stationed in front of the last cell on the left.

"I don't think you're going to have much luck, son," the Captain said stoically. "The kid's lost his mind."

Eugene stopped. "Wait, what do you mean?"

The Captain sighed. "He was fine, the first couple of days. Quiet, but he seemed normal enough. Then overnight, he just snapped. Started talking to himself, constantly. Doesn't seem to know where he is most of the time. It's like he's in another world," he explained, a rare hint of pity in his voice. "He has these episodes where he'll just go nuts, throwing himself against the walls, pulling his own hair. I've seen this kind of thing happen before, but never with someone so young." He motioned to the guards at the end of the hall. We have men stationed in front of him, for his own protection. We originally had him in the first hall. We moved him away from everyone else to try and make it less stressful on him, but it doesn't seem to have helped." The Captain eyed Eugene up and down. "You can try to get through to him, Fitzherbert, but don't get your hopes up."

The Captain continued down the hall. Eugene swallowed hard as he followed him to Varian's cell.

When they arrived, Eugene peered through the bars into the darkness. In the corner, he could just make out Varian's figure, sitting cross-legged on the floor, facing the wall. He was rocking himself back and forth, muttering something that Eugene couldn't quite hear. He noticed a spot of blood on the wall.

With a coldness in his stomach, Eugene turned toward the Captain.

"Does the King know about this?" he asked with a dull horror.

"Yes," he nodded grimly. "But I hope you understand why he has chosen to not worry the Princess over it, with her departure nearing. Personally, I have wanted to keep my own daughter's emotions out of this as well."

Eugene did understand. He knew the guilt that Rapunzel was already carrying. And based on how she had been acting this week, he could imagine that Cassandra was feeling it as well. No sense in making them feel worse if there was nothing they could do about it. Still, he didn't know how he would keep this a secret from them.

Eugene stood up against the cell, placing his hands on the bars. He took a deep breath.

"Varian," he called.

Varian gave no indication that he heard Eugene. He called his name again, with the same outcome.

"I told you, son," the Captain's gruff voice came from behind him. Eugene couldn't tear his eyes away. "It's like he's not in there."

A flash of anger shot through Eugene, but it left as quickly as it came. He sighed. "We're going to make it right, kid," he murmured.

Suddenly, Varian's head shot up. He whipped around, stumbled to his feet, and ran to the bars where Eugene stood. Eugene had to bite his cheek to keep from yelling out loud.

Eugene took in the sight of the boy before him. It was Varian, but in a week's time, he had become nearly unrecognizable.

His forehead was mangled with bruises and knots, and his face covered in scratch marks. His knuckles were raw and bloodied, as were his fingertips. Deep, black circles hung under his eyes, and his hair was a knotted mess. His eyes were bloodshot and hollow. He looked right at Eugene, but didn't seem to see him.

"Flynn? Flynn Rider?" his voice was crackled and hoarse, and there was a crazed desperation in his tone. "You-you got my messages!? I-I've been writing, to you-and you came! We have to go! My dad! He needs our help! We have to GO!" Varian clung to Eugene's vest through the bars. "You're a hero, you can help!"

Eugene stood in stunned silence for several seconds. When he finally found the words, his voice trembled.

"Varian, that's not my name. I'm Eugene, you know that!" He said with all of the sternness he could muster.

Rage contorted Varian's face. "NO!" he screamed, backing away and doubling over. "Don't LIE to me!"

He grabbed fistfuls of his hair, and began to pull.

"Hey, hey!" Eugene yelled. "Varian, stop! Varian-" he whipped around to the guards. "Open the door!" he shouted impatiently.

One of the guards fumbled for the key, and unlocked the door. Eugene ripped it open and dashed inside. He tackled Varian into a sort of bear hug from behind, pinning his arms to his side. "That's enough, Varian!" Eugene said breathlessly. "You have to stop."

Varian struggled desperately against Eugene's grip, but Eugene held him firmly in place.

"Let go!" he growled. "I have to get help! I have to-find-Rapunzel! She's the only-one who can help!"

Eugene looked over to the guards, who were all standing at the cell door, staring helplessly, unsure of whether or not they should intervene.

"She promised! She promised!" he yelled feverishly. "YOU PROMISED!" he lunged against Eugene's arms. When he didn't break free, Varian seemed to give up. He stood motionless.

"I just want you to be proud of me, dad." he whispered. "I just want to make you proud." He began to sob, leaning heavily against Eugene's arms. Eugene lowered him to the floor, getting down on one knee. He bit his cheek and turned his face away from the guards, trying to hide the tears that fell down his own face. Slowly, he loosened his grip on Varian, keeping one hand on his back.

Varian stood shaking on all fours. "That is _enough_, Varian," he mumbled through his tears. "Children have no place in court. You're just not ready."

"Yes I am," Varian continued the conversation with himself. "You have no idea what I'm capable of. I will make you proud of me dad, if it's the last thing I do." Then, he doubled over, and screamed.

"DAAAD!" He slammed his head against the cell floor. Eugene immediately grabbed his arm to pull him up - but Varian whipped around and swung at Eugene with a growling scream, catching him directly in the neck. Eugene felt a sharp sting on his skin. Immediately the guards rushed in. One of them grabbed Varian, and another took ahold of Eugene's vest and pulled him to his feet and out of the cell.

Varian was pinned to the ground in the blink of an eye. With his face pressed against the stone floor, he stared up at Eugene with a blank expression, looking simultaneously at and through him with hollow eyes.

Eugene stood in shock, unable to move.

"Come on, son. We need to get that cleaned up ASAP. They'll take care of him."

Eugene realized numbly that it was the Captain who had pulled him out. He pulled his hand away from his neck, and saw that it was streaked with blood.

"Come on," the Captain mumbled again, and began leading Eugene out of the dungeon. The pain began to register. With a heaviness in his stomach, Eugene walked up the stairs and through the castle. He half-heartedly made an effort to keep from dripping blood everywhere. Somewhere along the way, the Captain told one of the guards to get the King. Before he knew it, Eugene was sitting in a chair in the laundry room, while Esther pressed a rag into his neck.

...

Eugene looked up at Rapunzel, prepared for her anger. Instead however, she focused on the wound on his neck, a sadness in her eyes.

Eugene was forced to sit still as she wiped at the scratches. "I'm sorry. It was a mistake to go," he said regretfully. "I don't even know why I. . ." his voice trailed off. "I'm sorry."

Rapunzel was silent for a moment.

"I'm just glad you're okay," she said finally.

"You're not mad?" he asked timidly.

"How can I be?" she sighed. "I almost did the same thing."

They fell into silence. When Rapunzel had finished tediously cleaning his face and neck, she set the rags on the floor, and looked up at him. Neither of them had any words. Eugene took her hands in his.

"Was it the blood earlier? That upset you?" he asked guiltily.

She nodded. "It just took me back," she said quietly. She stared at their joined hands. "Can you believe how much has happened in a year? "How much everything has changed?" she asked, changing the subject. "For so long, every year of my life was the same. Every_ day_ was the same. It seems so unimaginable now. So distant. Like it was a different life, lived by someone else." she said. "So much has happened in a year's time, that I can barely remember sitting in a tower every day."

Eugene thought for a moment, running his thumb over the back of her hand. "I feel like I wasted twenty years of my life," he said morosely. "Living such a lie, chasing something that didn't exist. Being the bad guy." He squeezed Rapunzel's hands in his. "I haven't been Flynn Rider in over a year, and it still feels like he's too close."

Rapunzel pressed her forehead into his. "I'm just ready to start another new chapter. I want to put the past even farther behind us," she said with an exhaustion in her voice. "And as far as Varian. . .I just want to do whatever we can to start making this right."

They were silent for a few minutes, simply soaking in each other's presence.

"I feel like I've been awake for a week," Eugene said finally, struggling to keep his eyes open.

"Me too," Rapunzel agreed. "Do you want to go take a nap?"

"I would like nothing more, Blondie," he replied.

They stood up. "Let's stop by the infirmary and see if they have any herbs for that," Rapunzel said, eyeing the scratches.

"Fine," Eugene agreed reluctantly. He grabbed a blanket out of the pile of clean linens. "But then, we're going to find a tree to sleep under."

He took her hand, and together they headed down the hall.

...

Hi everyone! If you made it this far, thank you SO much for reading my story! I'm so glad I decided to write it. I would love to hear what you thought of it! What you liked, or any *constructive* criticisms you might have.

I have a few more ideas for Tangled stories, mainly oneshots, so I might do something with those in the future.

Also, there's another Tangled story that I wrote called 'Sunshine' that I wrote a while ago, feel free to check that out if you'd like!

Thanks again, see you around!


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